CHICAGO – Last Friday, Illinois Review shared a letter Chicago GOP Chairman Chris Cleveland wrote to Cook County GOP committeemen concerning a proposal Cook County GOP Chairman Sean Morrison attempted to make to the organization's by-laws making it easier for Democrats to gain official standings in the party structure.
Committeemen from only 29 wards or townships attended Wednesday night's meeting – far less than the number required for a Cook County GOP quorum. Five of those attending were proxies that could not vote on a bylaws change. Thus no vote on a by-law change was held.
In a response sent to committeemen, Cleveland said those in attendance did pass a resolution reaffirming its commitment to the principle that only genuine Republicans should hold office in the Republican Party, and that the Chicago Democrat Machine's attempt to infiltrate the party is unacceptable.
"Sean Morrison and I reached an agreement that we would work out language for a new bylaw to be voted on next meeting. It will have a requirement that the committeeman have pulled R ballots for at least two, and possibly three, primary cycles prior to the current one. We will also discuss appointments and cooperation on the lawsuits," Cleveland wrote. "I am satisfied with the outcome and I believe Sean is too."
Chairman Morrison posted on the Cook County GOP website that the Republicans did not reach the required quorum threshold established by the Bylaws of the Cook County Republican Party in order to consider either of the two proposed bylaw amendments Wednesday night.
"That being said, we came away from this meeting with an agreement to strike a compromise between the current voting requirement for Republican Committeemen in Cook County and the proposed amendment to those voting requirements," Morrison worte. "This compromise strikes a fair balance between our goal to welcome disgruntled Democrats and Independents into our party while also ensuring only genuine Republicans that have demonstrated a strong commitment to growing the party serve in leadership positions.
He continued:
"In the coming weeks, we will introduce a new amendment to the bylaws that strikes the balance we agreed upon this evening. More details will be announced at a later date," Morrison wrote. "Thank you to everyone who came out to tonight's meeting to have their voice heard. We look forward to seeing you again soon."
